who runs good on road course drivers in nascar

by Susan Abshire 5 min read

Jeff Gordon
His nine career road-course wins, in fact, are the most of any driver in NASCAR history.

Who are NASCAR's best road course drivers?

A current NASCAR star is quickly gaining on them, however. The list spanning NASCAR's best road course drivers is led by four-time champion Jeff Gordon and three-time champion Tony Stewart. The two have a combined 17 wins between them at this type of circuit, with Gordon's nine wins holding a slight advantage over Stewart's eight.

Is Chase Elliott the best road course driver in NASCAR?

Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has quickly become one of NASCAR's best road course drivers. He has five road course wins in just five full seasons and is well on his way to tracking down Gordon and Stewart.

Are there any good drivers left in the Sprint Cup?

There are plenty of good ones left, now that drivers in the Sprint Cup Series have taken learning the craft of road racing more seriously than many of them used to in the old days. Jeff Gordon has won nine times combined at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International, the two road courses currently on the Cup circuit.

What is a road course ringer in NASCAR?

A road course ringer, also known as road course specialist, road course expert, or a road runner, is a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR Cup Series or NASCAR Xfinity Series team to race, specifically on road courses .

How many road races has Truex won?

How many races did the ace make in the Cup Series?

How many poles did Smoke win?

Is Elliott still writing the story of his NASCAR career?

See 1 more

About this website

Who are the best road course drivers?

Jeff Gordon Those numbers speak for themselves, and that's why Gordon remains No. 1 among NASCAR's road-course racers. Gordon's average finish of 8.24 in his career at Sonoma is the best of all active Sprint Cup drivers, as is his total of five victories.

Which NASCAR driver has the most road course wins?

Chase Elliott, 7 wins. Watkins Glen: 2 wins. Chris Trotman | Getty Images for NASCAR.Tony Stewart, 8 wins. Watkins Glen: 5 wins. Jon Ferrey | Allsport.Jeff Gordon, 9 wins. Watkins Glen: 4 wins.

Is Kyle Larson good at road courses?

In addition, he is one of three drivers to finish in the top 10 in all three road course races so far this season - with a best finish of second at Road America. Larson has also fared well on road courses with three victories coming on this track type - fourth-most among active drivers.

Is Blaney good on road course?

Blaney also has a win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on his resume and has the fourth-best average finish on the three road courses the Cup Series has visited thus far in 2022 (7.6). Meanwhile, Truex qualified back in the 25th position as the Toyota camp has struggled on road courses this season.

What NASCAR driver has the best average finish?

Average Driver RatingChase Elliott. 99.7.Ross Chastain. 92.9.Ryan Blaney. 92.2.Christopher Bell. 90.7.Kyle Busch. 90.3.

Who is considered the best NASCAR driver of all time?

Richard Petty is the best NASCAR driver of all time. Although his record of seven championships is tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson, Petty holds the records for most wins, poles, career starts, wins in a season (27), consecutive wins (10), and Daytona 500 wins (7), among other distinctions.

Who is good at Circuit of Americas?

Circuit of the Americas (or COTA) has 20 turns — some sharp, some sweeping and others like an "S" — all with varying degrees of elevation....NASCAR Fantasy Picks: Best Circuit of the Americas Drivers for DraftKings.SalaryDriverDraftKings Score$11,900.00Martin Truex Jr.13.6$11,100.00Denny Hamlin37$8,700.00Kurt Busch49.95$6,800.00Ryan Newman9.453 more rows•May 22, 2021

What is Ryan Blaney's best track?

Average Finishes for Ryan Blaney at NASCAR TracksTrackBest Finish1Gateway (WWT)42Martinsville23Sonoma34Bristol Dirt523 more rows

What is Kyle Larson best tracks?

Average Finishes for Kyle Larson at NASCAR TracksTrackAvg Rating1Nashville124.02Dover123.43Watkins Glen115.84Michigan105.223 more rows

What are the 7 road courses in NASCAR?

As of 2022, current NASCAR national-level road courses include Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Circuit of the Americas, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, the Charlotte Roval, Road America, Mid-Ohio and Mosport.

What is Joey Logano's best track?

Average Finishes for Joey Logano at NASCAR TracksTrackAvg Rating1Gateway (WWT)118.12Bristol Dirt122.43Phoenix112.34Charlotte Roval101.623 more rows

Which 2022 Nascar races are on road courses?

Chase Elliott2022 road-course raceFinishRoad America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., July 32Sonoma, Calif., June 128COTA, Austin, Texas, March 274Jul 26, 2022

How many road course wins does Chase Elliott have?

sevenIn 2020, he won the Cup Series championship in Phoenix Arizona, the first for Hendrick Motorsports since 2016. He has 17 career wins in the Cup Series, including seven on road courses.

How many road course wins does Kyle Larson have?

KING OF THE ROAD: Larson won three road course events in 2021, the most ever during a NASCAR Cup Series season. Victories at Sonoma Raceway in June, Watkins Glen International in August and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in October were integral during his 10-win championship season.

How many road course wins does Kyle Busch have?

In four road races this year (combined Sprint Cup and Nation Series races) Kyle Busch has three wins and one second place, giving him an average finish of 1.25. Yes, that's impressive.

Who is the best NASCAR driver at Road America?

NASCAR Driver Averages at Road AmericaDriverAvg Finish1Chase Elliott1.52Tyler Reddick4.53Ross Chastain5.54Kyle Larson9.526 more rows

Ranking the Top 5 Road Course Drivers in NASCAR History - Gambling Sites

Tim Richmond’s NASCAR career ended way too early. He raced just six full-time seasons in the Cup Series in the mid-1980s. When he drove, he was as good as anyone could be on road courses.

NASCAR's best road course drivers - Sportskeeda

NASCAR's best road course drivers of all time are two Hall of Fame drivers who combined for seven NASCAR Cup Series champions. A current NASCAR star is quickly gaining on them, however.

Who Has the Most Road Course Victories in NASCAR History?

Gordon won a total of nine times on these circuits; four race wins at Watkins Glen and five race wins at Sonoma. But the reason this feat is all the more impressive for Gordon is that prior to 2021, there were only a handful of opportunities for drivers to add to their road course wins., simply because those types of circuits featured scarcely on the calendar.

How many road races has Truex won?

The scoop: Truex has won four road races including the last two at Sonoma (he has three wins there total). He's also got a win at Watkins Glen and been a runner-up there to Chase Elliott twice.

How many races did the ace make in the Cup Series?

The scoop: The versatile sports-car ace made just 16 Cup Series starts -- seven on ovals, nine of road courses -- but five of those were sweeping victories at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. That quintet of wins came in dominant fashion from 1963-68, four of them with Wood Brothers Racing and one with the Holman-Moody operation.

How many poles did Smoke win?

The scoop: Smoke won just one road-course pole, but made it count on race day with five wins at Watkins Glen and three at Sonoma. His career average finish of 9.9 at Watkins Glen places the New York circuit as his second-best track. He capped off his farewell season in 2016 with a dramatic Sonoma victory, the last of his 49 Cup Series wins.

Is Elliott still writing the story of his NASCAR career?

While impressive, El liott is still writing the story of his NASCAR Cup Series career, and his highlight-filled chapter on road courses is not fully complete. With the ascension of a current road-course king, let's look at NASCAR's all-time list (in no particular order) of rulers of the road.

Why is Stewart not the same driver?

More troublesome is the fact that Stewart has not been the same driver since suffering a badly broken leg in a non-NASCAR sprint car race at a dirt track in August 2013. He missed the last 15 races of that season because of the injuries, and in 48 starts since then he's managed just three top-five and eight top-10 finishes with zero wins.

How many times has Jeff Gordon won the Sprint Cup?

Jeff Gordon has won nine times combined at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International, the two road courses currently on the Cup circuit. Tony Stewart has done so seven times.

How many races has Busch won?

Although the elder of the racing Busch brothers has claimed only one career road-course victory, he has finished fourth or better in three of the last four Sonoma races.

When did Martin Truex Jr. win the Sonoma?

Although it wasn't that long ago, it was a different time in Martin Truex Jr.'s career when he scored his lone road-course win at Sonoma in 2013. He was still driving the No. 55 NAPA-sponsored Toyota when he won that day and was the toast of Napa Valley wine country.

How many times has Tony Stewart won the Sonoma?

Tony Stewart has done so seven times. No other active driver has more than three combined road-course wins. But that doesn't mean a bunch couldn't get it done this weekend at Sonoma, where there have been 10 different winners in the last 10 years.

Who drove the 14 Old Spice car to Watkins Glen?

Tony Stewart drove this No. 14 Old Spice car to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen in 2009. David Boe/Associated Press

Who is the crew chief for the Harvick?

But a closer look at his entire body of road work, plus the fact that Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers have consistently put out one of the fastest cars in the field this year no matter where the series has raced, makes Harvick seem like a viable contender this weekend and perhaps again later in the summer at the Glen.

How often does Monster Energy race on the road?

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series only competes on road courses twice each season. It would be great to see a road course added to the Playoffs and the test on the road course at Charlotte could be the race that is added. Fingers crossed…

How many times has Kevin Harvick been to Victory Lane?

Kevin Harvick has only been to Victory Lane once at the road courses (Watkins Glen in 2006), but he consistently runs in the top 10. Harvick has finished four of the last five races in the top 10 at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

Who has won the most races in NASCAR?

Ron Fellows has won the most races by road ringers, winning in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series mostly at Watkins Glen and once in Montreal. He almost won four Cup series races, finishing second at the Glen in 1999 and 2004, and dominating at Sonoma in 2001 (with NEMCO) and 2003 (with DEI .

Who is the greatest ringer in NASCAR history?

NASCAR describes road course ringers as "drivers who specialize in turning both left and right," and says that "perhaps the greatest road-course ringer in NASCAR history might be Dan Gurney " after he won four straight NASCAR races at Riverside. He lapped the field at the 1964 event.

What is a NASCAR ringer?

NASCAR term describing drivers who mostly drive on road courses. Boris Said is one of the most prominent road course ringers in NASCAR. A road course ringer, also known as road course specialist, road course expert, or a road runner, is a non-NASCAR driver who is hired by a NASCAR Cup Series or NASCAR Xfinity Series team to race, ...

How many races did Dan Gurney win?

Dan Gurney won five NASCAR races as a ringer, while also succeeding in Formula One. The last win by a road course ringer in a NASCAR Cup race was by Mark Donohue in 1973 in a Penske Racing AMC Matador in the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside.

How many miles are there in a NASCAR race?

Often, the disadvantage of having the NASCAR race car in itself, with its heavier car, narrower tire, smaller (compared to premium road-racing cars) brakes, (especially with inexperienced drivers) pit stops, and most often longer races (all NASCAR road course races are at least 200 miles /322 kilometers or longer) have hurt the "ringers".

What is a dirt track ringer?

Dirt track ringer. A variant of the road ringer, the dirt track ringer, has appeared in NASCAR since the Truck Series organized the Eldora Dirt Derby. Teams have often added a dirt track ace, typically a sprint car or dirt late model driver, for the Derby.

Why did Tony Ave stop racing?

For example, road course driver Tony Ave would say, in a 2020 YouTube interview with a fan, that he stopped racing in NASCAR because he didn't want to become a start-and-park driver.

Which NASCAR Driver Has the Most Road Course Wins?

The driver with the most wins on a road course track in NASCAR history is the legendary Jeff Gordon.

The Best Road-Course Drivers in NASCAR

As mentioned above, the best driver, statistically on a road course circuit, is Jeff Gordon, with nine wins.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Shaharyar is a Formula 1 & NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism from Amity University, he has been a passionate follower of motorsports for better part of the decade. A Max Verstappen and Ferrari supporter, he dreams of a pairing of the two in future.

How many road races has Truex won?

The scoop: Truex has won four road races including the last two at Sonoma (he has three wins there total). He's also got a win at Watkins Glen and been a runner-up there to Chase Elliott twice.

How many races did the ace make in the Cup Series?

The scoop: The versatile sports-car ace made just 16 Cup Series starts -- seven on ovals, nine of road courses -- but five of those were sweeping victories at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. That quintet of wins came in dominant fashion from 1963-68, four of them with Wood Brothers Racing and one with the Holman-Moody operation.

How many poles did Smoke win?

The scoop: Smoke won just one road-course pole, but made it count on race day with five wins at Watkins Glen and three at Sonoma. His career average finish of 9.9 at Watkins Glen places the New York circuit as his second-best track. He capped off his farewell season in 2016 with a dramatic Sonoma victory, the last of his 49 Cup Series wins.

Is Elliott still writing the story of his NASCAR career?

While impressive, El liott is still writing the story of his NASCAR Cup Series career, and his highlight-filled chapter on road courses is not fully complete. With the ascension of a current road-course king, let's look at NASCAR's all-time list (in no particular order) of rulers of the road.

image